metro
10-16-2007, 07:45 AM
Downtown takes on cosmopolitan air
By Steve Lackmeyer
Main Street
Last week dazzled and maybe even bewildered some downtown Oklahoma City's merchants, property owners and civic leaders.
It was dazzling because at no time had so many vastly different activities taken place in the city's heart in such a short period of time. And these were no ordinary events — most were the sort of moments that transform a city's image for better or worse.
The events along the Oklahoma River alone proved to most insiders the once derided waterway will be a factor in the future of downtown Oklahoma City. The Bricktown Canal can no longer claim to be the city's only iconic waterway, thanks to the world-class rowing festivities and the first glimpse of the Oklahoma River Cruisers that will begin carrying local passengers later this year.
Against the backdrop of the downtown skyline, visitors caught the vision that was once considered the eccentric wishes of longtime civic leader and ad man Ray Ackerman.
It's no longer crazy to discuss the potential for housing, restaurants, office towers and hotels along the river.
But will the Oklahoma River and the ongoing Core-to-Shore development studies detract from downtown's ongoing resurgence?
That's the question that is privately being discussed by some downtown business leaders even as downtown itself drew tens of thousands for the Centennial Parade.
Organizers estimate the crowd at 175,000 and say they believe 25,000 watched the parade from downtown's office buildings and 1,400 hotel rooms.
The image put out by the parade might indicate Oklahoma City, in some ways, is still very steeped in the country-western tradition, with singer Ty England performing a tribute to Oklahoma rednecks.
Just a couple days earlier, the creator of the television series "Saving Grace” pledged to move away from that very portrayal of the city (the show is about an Oklahoma City police officer) and present the more cosmopolitan image introduced to the cast and crew during their tour last week.
And that more cosmopolitan image is what is being touted by promoters of the Oklahoma River and downtown events last week like the Girlie Show and Art on Tap.
All of this cumulates as the Oklahoma Film and Music Office continues to court business leaders to provide $3 million toward allowing "Saving Grace” to film more episodes in Oklahoma City.
The message of that pitch is clear: the more Oklahoma City appears in a successful national television show, the easier it is to sell the city to outsiders who either have an outdated, cliched or no opinion at all of our downtown and community.
But after last week, is that image the one presented by a team of Miss Americas at the Centennial Parade, the one presented on the shores of the Oklahoma River, the one presented at the Girlie Show, or the one to be presented later this month at a downtown Halloween parade that will be led by hometown musical eccentrics (and Grammy-winning) The Flaming Lips?
Or is Oklahoma City all of the above?
By Steve Lackmeyer
Main Street
Last week dazzled and maybe even bewildered some downtown Oklahoma City's merchants, property owners and civic leaders.
It was dazzling because at no time had so many vastly different activities taken place in the city's heart in such a short period of time. And these were no ordinary events — most were the sort of moments that transform a city's image for better or worse.
The events along the Oklahoma River alone proved to most insiders the once derided waterway will be a factor in the future of downtown Oklahoma City. The Bricktown Canal can no longer claim to be the city's only iconic waterway, thanks to the world-class rowing festivities and the first glimpse of the Oklahoma River Cruisers that will begin carrying local passengers later this year.
Against the backdrop of the downtown skyline, visitors caught the vision that was once considered the eccentric wishes of longtime civic leader and ad man Ray Ackerman.
It's no longer crazy to discuss the potential for housing, restaurants, office towers and hotels along the river.
But will the Oklahoma River and the ongoing Core-to-Shore development studies detract from downtown's ongoing resurgence?
That's the question that is privately being discussed by some downtown business leaders even as downtown itself drew tens of thousands for the Centennial Parade.
Organizers estimate the crowd at 175,000 and say they believe 25,000 watched the parade from downtown's office buildings and 1,400 hotel rooms.
The image put out by the parade might indicate Oklahoma City, in some ways, is still very steeped in the country-western tradition, with singer Ty England performing a tribute to Oklahoma rednecks.
Just a couple days earlier, the creator of the television series "Saving Grace” pledged to move away from that very portrayal of the city (the show is about an Oklahoma City police officer) and present the more cosmopolitan image introduced to the cast and crew during their tour last week.
And that more cosmopolitan image is what is being touted by promoters of the Oklahoma River and downtown events last week like the Girlie Show and Art on Tap.
All of this cumulates as the Oklahoma Film and Music Office continues to court business leaders to provide $3 million toward allowing "Saving Grace” to film more episodes in Oklahoma City.
The message of that pitch is clear: the more Oklahoma City appears in a successful national television show, the easier it is to sell the city to outsiders who either have an outdated, cliched or no opinion at all of our downtown and community.
But after last week, is that image the one presented by a team of Miss Americas at the Centennial Parade, the one presented on the shores of the Oklahoma River, the one presented at the Girlie Show, or the one to be presented later this month at a downtown Halloween parade that will be led by hometown musical eccentrics (and Grammy-winning) The Flaming Lips?
Or is Oklahoma City all of the above?